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Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Chapter 2 page 269 - big girl clothes

I was lucky enough to be able to take today off. I wanted to see some movies, but none seemed interesting enough to pay for. I decided to do the next best thing - shop . . . for running clothes.

To the best of my knowledge, everyone who reads this blog is lucky (and blessed) enough to be able to wear regular sized clothes (though there are some former big girls reading-hats off to you gals), but I am a big girl - and we all know I'm trying to stop being one, but alas, I suck at loosing weight and for now, I'm still a big girl.

Last year I upgraded from "exercise" clothes (you know the cotton t-shirt and french terry pants) to "real" workout gear (wicking and clothes with special features like MP3 pockets). I was lucky enough to find big girl shirts and capris awesomely priced at kohls.com. The capris were a bit tighter than I prefer to wear, but they were the "biggest" ones I could find in all the land (except for some $80 ones from junonia.com - which seems extremely expensive since the "perfect ones" from Kohls were only $8).

My efforts today to find capris (also searchable on google as "knee pants") came up empty. There were cropped pants, and they had some capris that weighed half as much as I do - no idea why they were so heavy, but that would not work to run long distance in.

A note to clothing designers -
Not all big girls want (or should) wear tight clothes . . . so bring back the "relaxed" fit (I'm talking to you Kohls). This "fit and fabulous" isn't really all that fabulous. Not all of us want to show our mommy muscles or our booty sweat or our belly buttons - there some who do and to them I say . . . you should get a friend and a mirror, but to each is her own. For the rest of us - who are trying to be healthy, help a girl out!!!!!

Now, an observation. I have seen LOTS of big girls wearing the tight spandex at races and thought "hmmm, maybe not the best choice", but today it dawned on me . . . that is very likely the ONLY true workout attire they could find. To them - I now say "Way to bring the confidence and be your own person despite the shortfalls of the clothing industry". For those of you who see me at upcoming races in my "too tight" capris - please know that I have spent probably a hundred hours looking for something more flattering. Sigh!

p.s. Did you know that the local running store and the only sports store (Dicks) in the big city do NOT carry plus size clothes? Does that seem wrong to anyone else? Fat girls wanna get fit too!

p.s.s. Thanks to all who voted on my poll. Looks the like the books will be taking a break for awhile and a change will be coming.

I've heard this from other people, too, Lisa! If you have a brand that you like as far as weight and (somewhat of a) look, check ebay! You can search for NEW WITH TAGS items to ensure you're not getting capris that someone has already sweat in :) You can try Gordman's across from JP--they tend to have a lot of variety. You should comment on Kohl's and Dick's websites, too!

Wow, this is an enlightening post. I didn't know that finding good-fitting running clothing was so challenging. I hope you will be able to find options that work for you. Or, maybe you could design some and contact a company to have them make a prototype.

Oh girl, I know exactly what you're talking about. I'm a big girl and not just wide but tall as well and it is impossible to find any clothes, not just running ones. I usually end up with a men's shirt over spandex shorts. I do have a couple of XXL running shirts from Old Navy but I don't know what time of year they carry them. I wish I had some advice for you on where to shop but I just look everywhere and sometimes luck out.

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I completed a 10K training program in September 2009 and fell in love with racing. I entered 6 races (2 10Ks, 3 5 Ks, and a 5.3 M) September - November 2009. I completed 13 races in 2010 including my first and second half marathons. Participating in races has changed my life! See you at the next starting line!